UFC 258: Which fighters are competing on the Usman vs Burns card?
UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman will finally lock horns with No. 1 ranked welterweight Gilbert 'Durinho' Burns at UFC 258. The fight headline the event, which will take place on February 13th.
Apart from the Nigerian Nightmare's third title defense, the event is stacked with some other great fights as well.
As per ESPN MMA, the main card will feature a women's flyweight bout between No. 10 ranked Maycee Barber and No. 15 ranked Alexxa Grasso. Barber is making her return to the Octagon after a year-long hiatus.
Barber tasted defeat at the hands of Roxanne Modafferi at UFC 246 in her last appearance. Grasso, on the other hand, is coming off a victory over Ji Yeon Kim last August.
Another banger of a fight on the main card is Kelvin Gastelum vs Ian Heinisch. Gastelum is currently on a three-fight losing streak in the middleweight division. It will be interesting to see if he will mend his record against Heinisch, who is coming off a victory over Gerald Meerschaert.
Bantamweights Pedro Munhoz and Jimmie Rivera will also face each other at UFC 258. Munhoz's last fight was a five-round back-and-forth battle against UFC veteran Frankie Edgar. Although he lost the fight, many MMA analysts considered Munhoz the real victor. Meanwhile, Jimmie Rivera's last fight was against Cody Stamman, during which secured a victory via a unanimous decision.
Only one fight has been announced for the prelims so far. Strawweight Polyana Viana will face Mallory Martin in a three-round fight bout. Both fighters won their last bouts via submission.
Will Gilbert Burns be Kamaru Usman's toughest challenge at UFC 258?
Except for the fight against Colby Covington, Kamaru Usman has utilised his wrestling credentials to dominate his opponents. This approach has worked wonders for the Nigerian Nightmare in the past. However, things will get a little tricky when it comes to Gilbert Burns.
Along with a heavy-handed striking game, Burns is also known for being well-versed in jiu-jitsu. The Brazillian, with many submission wins under his belt, may thrive if Usman decides to take the fight to the ground.
Both Usman and Burns were teammates at Sanford MMA and sparred against each other on many occasions.
If Kamaru Usman continues his dominance at UFC 258, it will be tough to argue that the Nigerian Nightmare is certainly one the greatest welterweights of all time.